Burlap bag.



UNITED STATES Patented October 18, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

BURLAP BAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,629, dated October 18, 1904.

Application filed May t, 1904. Serial No. 206,414. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LTRUMAN GARRET PALMER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the 'city of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Burlap Bags; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

For the shipment of sugar and other food products of considerable bulk and of a granular character it is quite common to employ an outer bag of burlap or similar coarse ma.- terial of more or lessopen weave and an inner bag .of cotton fa briq paper, or the like.

The inner cotton fabric or paper bag has for of the burlap strands, which otherwise in rubbing ofi from the fabric mix with the material and render it unsalable or materially dimin-v ish its commercial value.

The purpose'of my present invention is to vdispense entirely with the necessity for the employment of the inner bag referred to and to so treat the burlap bag itself that it shall be adapted for the shipment of sugar and other granular food products. This purpose I effect by the employment of relatively cheap materials and by a simple and inexpensive manipulation.

In carrying out my invention I mat and lay the minute hair-like fibers or fuzz referred to by sizing the surface of the burlap fabric with a solution of starch, flour, glucose, dextrine, gelatin, or some equivalent agglutinant soluble in water. For this purpose I prefer to select an agglutinant which, While freely soluble in hot or boilingwater, is more difiicultly soluble in cold water.

For instance, I find that starch mixed with Water and boiled therein until the mixture forms a freely-flowing paste capable of being applied to the fabric by means of a brush is particularly adapted to the purpose of the invention. For most purposes it will suflice to apply this paste to the inner surface of the burlap bag and in quantity only sufiicient to lay or mat the fuzz and to form a thin film over the meshes of the fabric, which are usually sufficiently close together for that purpose. Care should be taken to restrict the quantity of agglutinant employed to that which suffices for laying or matting the fuzz, the closing of the pores or meshes being more or lfi incidental to the operation and unnecessary where the Weave of the burlap is sufficiently close, whereas the employment ofa thicker layer of agglutinant than is essential for the matting or laying of the fuzz is of disadvantage, for the reason that if the layer is too thick it has a tendency to flake off and mix with the material in the bag. Where just the necessary amount is employed for laying or matting the fuzz, the fuzz itself serves to anchor or bind the thin layer of agglutinant to the fabric and prevent any substantial portion of it being separated from the bag-surface. It is of course also to be observed that the composition of the agglutinant shall be such as is innocuous to food products and unobjectionable to the particular character of the food product for whose shipment the bag is intended. In many instances I prefer tocoat both the interior and exterior surface of the bag with the agglutinant as an additional precaution against the infiltration into the interior of dust or dirt on the cars, on the car-platforms, or elsewhere during transportation or shipment. I find that the low solubility of the agglutinant in cold water is a 7 factor sufficient to protect the contents of the bag treated from expectorations of tobacco-juice or from sudden dashes of rain or Water of moderate amount, even though the treated bag is not waterproof inthe strict sense of that term.

It will of course be understood that in lieu of applying the agglutinant to the finished bag by a brush or the like it may be of advantage to apply it to the fabric itself before i the bagsare made upas, for instance,

passing the burlap through a tank or vat filled With the desired solution, then passing it between rollers to equalize its distribution and to expel the surplus, and then overheated rollers or other suitable means to dry it, so that it can be immediately rolled or folded up and subsequently be made up into bags.

The characteristic odor of burlap bags is in my opinion due principally to the fuzzy exterior. By matting and laying the filaments or fuzz by means of an agglutinant of the kind described I find that the bag substantially loses its former characteristic odor and that materials shipped in it are uncontaminated either by this odor or by the presence of the filaments or fuzz itself.

The solubility of the agglutinant in hot water permits the bag to be thoroughly washed afterit has been used for the shipment of any particular material and to be then reused for the same or another material by again coating it with the agglutinant.

Havingthus described my invention, what i I claim is destroy the porosity of the bag or to render it waterproof.

3. A burlap bag, the material of which has been treated with a soluble agglutinant to mat or lay down and stiffen the fibers or fuzz on the surface of the fabric without rendering the bag waterproof or destroying its porosity.

4. A burlap bag, having the fuzz or libers on the surface of the fabric matted down and stiffened by an agglutinant that is soluble in cold water so as to permit the bag to be washed and re-treated.

5. A washable burlap bag, having the n atural fuzz or fibers on the surface of the fabric matted down and stiffened by a thin temporary application of an agglutinant that will dissolve when the bag is washed.

6. A bag of coarse woven material, having a wash or thin coating of an agglutinant that is soluble in water, whereby the interstices are only partially closed and the fuzz and fibers of the fabric are stuck down on the surface and prevented from rubbing off and mixing with the bags contents.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TRUMAN G Mtlill'l lA hill ll It.

itnesses:

JOHN C. PENNIE, \V. BEALLE HLLIAMs. 

